Fix linux kernel vulnerability

Question

At the moment I have one OEL server ... during boot up it reports
Red Hat Nash 5.1.19.6 ( yes it reports Red Hat even though I built it from an OEL download.)
Once up, a 'uname -a' reports '2.6.18-164.el5 x86-64.'
Now I have a directive to upgrade the kernel if the kernel is a 2.6.x release prior to 20 Sept. 2010 for Red Hat Enterprise v5 servers)
I assume that even though this was built from an OEL download, the fact that it is still showing "Red Hat" at boot time means I'm still on a Red Hat distro.
How do I make the upgrade?
As this is a trial machine, we have not purchased a support contract. That is not out of the question, but short term I'd rather not wait on our arcane purchasing system.

Answer 1

jonjac wrote:
The OSS document that you mentioned lists the latest kernels as of September 2010, and describes the changes made.
Why are you afraid that you might not be in compliance?
Because I don't know enough about what I'm doing to be able to confirm that the specific issue has been addressed.
I'll be the first to admit that I may be staring the answer in the face and simply not recognizing it because I'm not familiar enough with administering Linux versions/patches, etc. I'm comfortable as a linux user and as a DBA with my db's on linux (actually, I stay away from Windows as much as possible), but this is a level of os admin I've never had to deal with.
Part of what leaves me a bit uncomfortable is the statement in my directive that the directive states
=========
Affected Software/Patch(es):
Linux Kernel 2.6.X releases prior to 20 September 2010 *
===========================
but even with the latest applied updates, I get
[root@lnxsrv02 ~]# uname -a
Linux lnxsrv02.mydomain 2.6.32-100.0.19.el5 #1 SMP Fri Sep 17 17:51:41 EDT 2010 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/LinuxNote that - with no further reference - the date of my update level would have me at an "Affected" level.
If I understand correctly, all you need to do is install the latest kernel update of OEL, because that's the distribution you are running.
What repositories does your system use? Which kernel updates are automatically available?
Here's a complete accounting of what I've done ...
=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~= PuTTY log 2010.10.20 13:39:51 =~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=
[root@lnxsrv02 ~]# yum install kernel
Loaded plugins: security
el5_u4_base | 1.1 kB 00:00
Setting up Install Process
Package kernel-2.6.18-164.el5.x86_64 already installed and latest version
Nothing to do
[root@lnxsrv02 ~]# cat /etc/enterprise-release
Enterprise Linux Enterprise Linux Server release 5.4 (Carthage)
[root@lnxsrv02 ~]# cat /etc/redhat-release
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 5.4 (Tikanga)
=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~= PuTTY log 2010.10.20 16:21:01 =~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=
[root@lnxsrv02 yum.repos.d]# yum install kernel
Loaded plugins: security
el5_u5_base | 1.1 kB 00:00
el5_u5_base/primary
<snip>
=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~= PuTTY log 2010.10.21 10:44:59 =~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=
[root@lnxsrv02 ~]# yum update
Loaded plugins: security
el5_u5_base | 1.1 kB 00:00
ol5_u5_base | 957 B 00:00
Skipping security plugin, no data
<snip>
Complete!
[root@lnxsrv02 ~]# reboot
=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~= PuTTY log 2010.10.21 11:30:27 =~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=
[root@lnxsrv02 ~]# cat /etc/enterprise-release
Enterprise Linux Enterprise Linux Server release 5.5 (Carthage)
[root@lnxsrv02 ~]# uname -a
Linux lnxsrv02.mydomain 2.6.32-100.0.19.el5 #1 SMP Fri Sep 17 17:51:41 EDT 2010 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
[root@lnxsrv02 ~]# yum install oracle-linux
Loaded plugins: security
el5_u5_base | 1.1 kB 00:00
ol5_u5_base | 957 B 00:00
Setting up Install Process
Resolving Dependencies
<snip>
Complete!
[root@lnxsrv02 ~]# reboot
=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~= PuTTY log 2010.10.21 12:14:01 =~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=
[root@lnxsrv02 ~]# uname -a
Linux lnxsrv02.mydomain 2.6.32-100.0.19.el5 #1 SMP Fri Sep 17 17:51:41 EDT 2010 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
[root@lnxsrv02 ~]# cat /etc/enterprise-release
Enterprise Linux Enterprise Linux Server release 5.5 (Carthage)
[root@lnxsrv02 ~]# yum list kernel
Loaded plugins: security
Installed Packages
kernel.x86_64 2.6.18-164.el5 installed
kernel.x86_64 2.6.32-100.0.19.el5 installed
[root@lnxsrv02 ~]# yum repolist all
Loaded plugins: security
repo id repo name status
el5_addons Enterprise Linux 5 - x86_64 - addons disabled
el5_ga_base Enterprise Linux 5 GA - x86_64 - base disabled
el5_oracle_addons Enterprise Linux 5 - x86_64 - oracle_addons disabled
el5_u1_base Enterprise Linux 5 U1 - x86_64 - base disabled
el5_u2_base Enterprise Linux 5 U2 - x86_64 - base disabled
el5_u3_base Enterprise Linux 5 U3 - x86_64 - base disabled
el5_u4_base Enterprise Linux 5 U4 - x86_64 - base disabled
el5_u5_base Enterprise Linux 5 U5 - x86_64 - base enabled: 4,372
ol5_u5_base Oracle Linux 5 - U5 - x86_64 - base enabled: 53
repolist: 4,425